Liquid level indicator



Dec; 8, 1931. r

M. E. CHENEY LIQUID LEVEL mmcmon Filed Nov. 26, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 8,1931. M. E. CHENEY LIQUID LEVEL INDICATOR Filed Nov. 26, 1927 2Sheets-Sheet 2 M 7 3 R R My 2 E u 2 HMHWUH n 8 2/ HHH HHHIHM H. n 7 1 Pa I a 1 70 R 3 a A 7 l l 9 l 1 v QM 1 E w 5 o I shoe/ate 7M6 I PatentedDec. 8, 1931 UNITED, STATES PATENT OFFICE MOSES E. CHENEY, OF TOLEDO,OHIO, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, T0 MOTO METER GAUGE & EQUIPMENTCORPORATION, OF LONG ISLAND CITY, NEW YORK, A

CORPORATION OF DELAWARE LIQUID LEVEL INDICATOR Application filedNovember 26, 1927. Serial No. 235,846.

This invention relates to improvements and means for indicating thedepth of liquid in a covered receptacle and has certainadvantageousfeatures which make it particularly adaptable to the measuring of theamount of gasoline in the storage tank of an automobile. In sucharrangements, the ordinary construction consists of a gasoline tankmounted on the rear portion of the auto, a U-tube indicator mounted onthe dash with an intervening air column connecting it to the lowerportion of the gasoline tank; the

position of the liquid piston in-the U-tube' being dependent upon theheight of liquid in the tank. The instrument in such constructionsusually includes a transparent tube having an open upper end withinwhich the liquid piston is adapted to rise in accordance with the heightof the liquid in the tank.

It is a comparatively simple matter to arrange the parts so that, undernormal conditions the variation of height in the indicator tube isconfined to definite limits which are easily provided for in arelatively small gauge and length of indicator tube. How ever, suchinstruments must be designed to provide for certain abnormal conditions,whereby the depth is greatly increased over the normal capacity of thetank in its level position and in cases where the liquid extends intothe filler spout and other abnormal conditions, such as sudden surges ofthe liquid in the tank whereby the pressure imparted to the air columnand likewise the liquid piston is greatly increased. Such increasedpressures may be sufficient in many cases to cause the liquid piston tooverflow the indicator tube unless provision is made therefor.

I-Ieretofore in order that the length of indicator tube may bemaintained within satisfactory dimensions it has been common to providea. reservoir at the upper end of the indicator tube.

This invention is designed to provide for such abnormal conditions witha construction more simplified and economical to build than priordevices and includes in the main a restricted opening extending fori a.substantial distance through the U-tube whereby the liquid displacedtherefrom by abnormal pressures is of reduced volume and thereforerequires less overflow capaclty in the indicator tube.

In conjunction with the above improvements, novel means have beenconcelved and a practical embodiment thereof designed for forming therestricted portion of the tube, which consists of the insertion thereinof a wire rod which in addition to providing a simple and economicalconstruction also has of different capacities and depth are used,

thereby adapting the indicating instrument to more universal use.

Another difficulty encountered in installations of this kind resultsfrom the fact that the tube in its mounting on the dash is subjected tobeing tilted in accordance with the position of the auto, resulting ininaccurate readings of the indicator due to the difleig ence in theheights of the respective legs of the U-tube. The simplifiedconstruction provided herein is such as to enable the legs of the tubeto be brought closer to ether thereby reducing the errors resulting romthe tilting of the indicator tube. At the same time the constructionenables the assembling of 5 the parts to be accomplished more easily andthe resulting instrument being more compact and rigid than previousdevices of this nature.

As a further object in conjunction with the 9b simplified, rigid andcompact structure, amethod of assembling 'suchparts has been conceivedrelating particularly to the means for securing the glass indicator tubein its support and forming leakproof joint between the bore of the glassindicator tube and the connecting leg of the U-tube. A common practiceheretofore has been to insert the glass tube in a holding body memberand pour a molten liquid around the inelevational view of tlie sertedend allowing it to solidify. It was found, however, that such castmaterials were often porous, permitting the fluid to seep thereinto,thereby destroying the accuracy of the instrument. The present methodcontemplates the provision of a malleable ring which is tamped tightlyinto place, around the inserted end of the glass tube. The metallicsupporting member and the adjacent ous Ways contemplated by thisinvention,

drawings depicting a preferred typical construction have been annexed asa part of this disclosure and, in such drawings, like characters ofreference denote corresponding parts throughout all the views, of whichFigure 1 is a substantially diagrammatic view, showing the indicatorconnected to a liquid receptacle. Fi 2 is an enlarged front indicatorinstrument proper. Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken onthe line 33 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken onthe line 44'of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a detail view illustrating the methodof assemblin the transparent tube in a holding body, an Fig. 6 is a viewsimilar to Fig. 5 showiiig the finished product.

The invention is shown disclosed in an organiz ation suitable forapplication to an automobile and includes a tank or closed receptacle10, havingthe filling spout 10', such receptacle being commonly mountedon the rear end of an automobile, and an indicating instrument 11adapted to be mounted on the dashan-d having a pipe 12 connecting itwith the lower part of the tank 10 through the intermediary of a fitting13. Such fittin may be of any suitable typewherein the liquid is adaptedto enter the lower end of the tub 12 and exert a pressure on the aircolumn confined therein; such pressure being in accordance with thedepthof the liquid in the tank 10.

The essential features of the indicator instrument proper comprise aU-tube which includes the body member 14, lower bent tube portion 15,and the transparent indicator tube 16. The air pipe 12 is connected tothe body portion 14 by a suitable pipe joint 12'. The tubular indicator16 is mounted within the casing 17 having therein the bracket 18 ofU-shaped cross-section upon which is secured the graduated circularplate 19 by means of screws 20. The lower portion of the casing 17 hasan opening 22 therein extending upwardly through a portion of the backwall adapted to receive the supporting block or body member 23, withinwhich the glass indicator tube I6 is inserted. Projecting cars 17afi'ord means for mounting the instrument on its support which supportmay include the front annular ring 17 for securing the indicating facein position.

Fi 4 illustrates most clearly a construction aving features ofparticular advantage in an instrument of this type. The surface of thebod member 14 has a convex portion 24 adapte' to receive a similarlyshaped concave portion 25 of the outer casing and likewise a similarlyshaped central portion of the bracket 18. Screws 26 may be convenientlyinserted at either side of the indicator tube to draw the casing intofirm engagement with the supportin body member; animportant feature ofthis construction resides in the convenience with which the parts may beassembled as compared with a construction-in which, for example, thecontacting surfaces are made flat and the securing screws areaccordingly inserted at right angles with the I contacting surfaces,such assembling being diflicult because of the position of the glass'tube in the front thereof. If, in order to overcome this disadvantage,the glass tube ily assembled then "such an arrangement would result inthe bores 27 and 28 being widely separated and causing inaccuratereadings of the indicator in case the instrument were tilted about anaxis perpendicular to the paper in Fig. 3. The arrangement shown permitsof a more convenient compact and rigid construction of the parts and onein which the bores are brought much closer together.

The construction includes a wire rod 30 inserted within the tube portion15 to occupy a large part of the cross-sectional area thereof, but notto entirely close the opening therethrough. It is obvious that this isnot the only way in which the cross-sectional area may be reduced. h 1 1The operation of the structure is somewhat as follows Aliquid pistonoccupies a position in the lower part of the U-tube extending up intothe transparent tube 16 to a point adjacentthe graduations and also upinto the bore of the U-tube to the point 6 corresponding to zero.Upon'the tank being filled the liquid piston would be forced down andaround to the points 0 andd; the latter point corresponding on the scaleto the full mark or 10 as shown herein. Such an operation is well knownininstruinents of this type. i

The novel features of this invention include the provision of arestricted portion of the pipe 15 below the point 0, whereby additionalpressure exerted on the liquid piston causes it to flow around the pipe15 but indoing so, owing to the reduced volume thereof, p

imparted to the air column by reason of sudden surge of the liquid,resulting from'rapidchange of position of the receptacle 10. As -aresult of such abnormal condition the liquid piston may be forced downto the point e, for example, which would be approximately double theincreased pressure from a to 0. With a uniformly sized opening in theright leg of the U-tube, shown in Fig. 3, the liquid in the glass tubewould rise above d an amount equal approximately to a distance I) d,that is a sufiicient distance to overflow the glass tube, but with therestricted portion of the U-tube it is apparent that theincreased heightof the liquid in the glass tube would rise only to some point, such asthat indicated y f- The increased rise in the glass tube 16 wouldnaturally be dependent upon the rela- I tive cross-sectional areas ofthe openings in the tube 15 and the bore 28. This, in turn, it may beseen, would be dependent upon gtlle particular size of wire rod 30 whichwas utilized, which wire rod may be of selected approximate sizes inaccordance with the conditions which must be provided for; as, forexample, if the tank were of greater depth, the scale reading on theglass indicator would be of greater length, reducing thereby the. lengthof tube above the full mark on the scale andthewire rod 30 would berequired to be made larger in order that the liquid would not rise inthe glass tube above the full mark to the extent of the previous case.

The wire rod also performs functions which makes its use of greatadvantage because of the greater resistance to the flow of liquidoffered by the increased area of frictional surface within the tube 15.Such frictional resistance renders the gauge more steady and nullifies,to a large extent, any surges in the level of the liquid resulting insudden increased pressures on the air column ber 14 and the supportingmember 23 may be separately and rapidly formed in automatic screwmachines and thereafter assembled by soldering the surface 31. Such aconstruction also permits the convenient assembling of the glass tube 16and the member 23, which operation is accomplished in a simple manner,now to be disclosed, resulting in a tighter joint entirely free from anydanger of leakage. The method by which this glass tube is assembled tothe supporting member 23 and secured to the pipe 15 to form a continuouspassage for the liquid piston, consists of forming the counterbore 32 inthe member 23, inserting therein the ring 33 composed of some softmaterial, such as lead, which may be easily pressed into close contactwith the adjoining surfaces. Pressure is applied to i the upper surfaceof the ring 33 to tamp or force it into tight engagement with the jointsurface by means of a sleeve member 34 operable in any desired manner ase. g. a punch press. The member 23 and pipe 15 both be-' ing of ametallic substance may be easily joined together in some such manner asscrewing the pipe 15 within the opening 35 or soldering it in positionto. thereby result in a fluid tight joint between the two elements ofthe U-tube. The soft ring 33 being pressed into place is entirely freefrom pores or open-' ings such as would be liable to occur in case suchring were cast therein.

The above assembled construction co-operates to form a very compactrigid indicator instrument and capable of operating in a inost reliableand accurate manner.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist ofthis invention that others can, by applying current knowledge. readilyadapt it for various utilizations by retaining one or more of thefeatures that, from the standpoint of the prior art, fairly constituteessential characteristics of either the generic orspecific aspects ofthis invention and. therefore, such adaptations should be. and areintended to be, comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalencyof the following claims Having thus revealed this invention, I claim asnew and desire to secure the following combinations and elements, orequivalents thereof, by Letters Patent of United States 1. An indicatorinstrument combining a body member having a bore therein; a casingmounted thereon; a'liquid receiving indicator tube mounted in saidcasing; a U-tube connecting said indicator tube with the bore in saidbody member substantially parallel to said indicator tube,theadjoiningsurfaces of said casing and body member being arcshaped.

2. An indicating instrument comprising a body member having a boretherein and a convexed portion on 1ts outer surface; a tubular'indicator member mounted closely adjacent said curved portion andsubstantially parallel to said bore; means connecting said indicatormember and saidbore to form a U-tube; a casing for said indicator memberhaving a supporting wall portion adapted to fit said convexed portion;and securing means therefor closely adjacent said indicator member.

3. An indicator instrument combining U- tube means comprising a bodymember having a bore therein, a liquid indicator tube arrangedsubstantially parallel to said bore, and pipe means connecting said boreand tube; and a casing. for'said indicator tube mounted on said bodymember the adjoining surfaces being curved into said casing wherebyscrew fastening means may be conveniently inserted through said casingtubeand the tube and bore arranged closely adjacent,

and screw means fixedly mounting the casing on the body member.

4. An indicator instrument characterized as having a body member with avertical bore therein and a casing having a concaved portion, saidcasing being mounted on said body member the combination of an indicatortube adjacent to and substantially parallel with the bore of said bodymember with a U-tube connecting the bore of said body member with saidindicator tube, the surface of said body member having a convexedportion to receive the concaved portion of said casing whereby screwsmay be conveniently inserted through the casing without interferencefrom the indicator tube, and screws fixedly mounting the casing on thebody member.

5. In combination with a tank for' containing a liquid, an uprightindicating tube comprising a graduated portion and an overflow portionabove said graduated portion of less capacity than the graduatedportion, an upright body member having a bore, an upright intermediatemember of U-shaped character whose capacity per unit of length is 1 lessthan the capacity of said bore, the said intermediate member beingconnected both to' the lower part of the graduated portion ,6. Thecombination of a liquid tank with and being movable by variations of thelevel of the liquid insaid tank, said upright U-tube member having anoverflow portion, a graduated indicating portion, an intermediateportion of U-shape and a portion having a bore connected to one end ofthe intermediate member, the intermediate member being of less capacityper unit of length than said bore and the indicating element beingarranged to extend normallyinto said bore, but capable of falling belowsaid bore andinto the intermediate member during abnormal conditions ofthe liquid level of said tank, thereby causing a reduced amount of flowof the indicating element through said graduated portion.

7 The combination of a liquidtank with 1 an indicating tube member, apipe connecting said tube member with the tank, said p pe and indicatingtube containing an indicating element movable by variations of the levelof the liquid in said tank, said indicating tube member having agraduated portion, an over.-'

flow portion above said graduated portion, an intermediate portion ofU-shape and means forming a bore connected thereto, the intermediatemember being of less capacity per unit of length than the bore and thelevel of the indicating element being arranged normally to be below saidoverflow portion in V one leg of said indicating tube and above theintermediate portion in the other leg of said my name.

" MOSES E. CHENEY.

and to the lower portion of the bore of the said body member, a pipeconnecting the upper portionof the body member wlth the tank andcommunicating with the liquid at the maximum depth to be indicated, anindieating-element in'said U-tube responding to variations of the levelof the liquid in said tank, the level of said indicating elementextending to the bore of the body member at the initial full position ofthe liquid level of said tank but dropping from said bore into theU-shaped intermediate member whenever an unusual conditionof the liquidin the receptacle occurs after said receptacle is filled, therebycausing a limited amount of the indicating element to flow into theoverflow portion of the tube.

